Background
Therapies targeting tumor angiogenesis, such as anti-VEGF antibodies (bevacizumab), are a major step in the treatment of non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) but are costly drugs and may be responsible for significant toxicities. The goal of our study was to assess the value of non-invasive tools evaluating early the response to bevacizumab in NSCLC.

Methods
56 consecutive patients with stage IIIB-IV non-squamous NSCLC were prospectively recruited. According to multidisciplinary committee advice, one group of patients (bevacizumab group, n =24) had a chemotherapy combined with bevacizumab, the second one (control group, n = 32) had a similar chemotherapy but without bevacizumab. Quantitative tumor perfusion was sequentially evaluated with CT-scan before (T0) and after 1 cycle (T1) and 3 cycles (T2) of chemotherapy. CT-scan parameters included: (a) tumor height and diameter; (b) tumoral blood volume (BV) and capillary permeability (CP). Blood biomarkers (Endocan, VEGF, Angiopoïetin-2, VEGFR-2, VE-cadherin) were measured at the same time points.

Results
We observed an early and quite specific decrease of BV, CP and blood levels of VEGF, Angiopoïetin-2 and VE-cadherin in the bevacizumab group compared to control group. In the bevacizumab group, the decrease of BV between T0 and T1 was more important in patients responding to treatment than in subjects with progression on clinical (ΔBVT0-1 =-2.72ml vs 0.32ml, p=0.004) or RECIST criteria (ΔBVT0-1 =-3.35ml vs 0.04ml, p=0.011). An initial high Endocan level appeared as a marker of bad prognosis (overall survival) (HR=1.469 [1.120-1.925]; p=0.005) using a cut-off value of 0.72ng/ml (HR=2.276 [1.074-4.82]; p=0.032). Moreover, in the bevacizumab group, a significant decrease of Endocan level between T0 and T1 was a marker of good prognosis (HR=0.141 [0.022-0.889]; p=0.037).

Conclusion
Whole tumor perfusion analysis by CT-scan exhibited a promising predictive value for patients treated by chemotherapy combined with anti-angiogenic drug, whereas blood Endocan appeared as the most interesting blood marker, having a significant prognostic value in the same patients. These two exciting non-invasive tools deserve further and larger studies to confirm their value in monitoring NSCLC patients with therapies targeting tumor angiogenesis.

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